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OLD STREET
THE SILICON ROUNDABOUT Old Street The term Silicon roundabout was given to Old Street Station area by Matt Biddulph, a software designer, to define the emergence of small start-ups firms in Shoreditch area since mid 1990’s, which has become the preferable place of some big actors like Google and Facebook, and the biggest cluster of the digital sector in London known today. The emergence of creative industries
Dittmar’s creative industry cluster as it is
in general comes as a combination of
a vibrant high-tech cluster well serviced
“lots of young people; a vibrant nightlife;
by major infrastructure such as Shoreditch
excellent accessibility; a location close
and Old Street Stations, full of amenities
to city centre and public transport; old,
like shops and cafes. The area is mostly
undervalued buildings with small floor
defined by offices with some retail and
plates; an urbanism characterized by grid
commercial use on the ground floor and is
and fine grain, as evidenced by masonry
almost devoid of residence. Its extension
or
narrow
to other neighborhoods in the East
streets and small blocks; and lots of cafe’s
answers the demands of other uses,Such
, bars and places to congregate, meet and
as Hoxton which offers a residential area
work. Not much has been added to the
and Shoreditch which offers a place for
list since the digital age: high speed broad
large commercial developments.4
band, better coffee, perhaps... at the core
In November 2010, the government
is affordable, adaptable space in a place
aimed to make East London the biggest
that attracts people with more ideas than
technology centre by supporting the
capital”
existing cluster and by creating a framework
warehouse
construction;
3
Old Street fits to the description of
for the working places to emerge. In 2011